Once the announcement begins after you're strapped in just take a deep breath and brace yourself back into your seat.

You'll be absolutely fine. You feel a bit shocked the first time you go on Rita but it's really not bad at all. The initial launch feeling is over so quickly (as is the rest of the coaster) that you don't get all that much time to think about it. I always find rollercoasters with lift hills scarier as you have more time to think then! Just my opinion.

Thanks a lot! And in the queue, I'll keep saying to myself, "I can do this!" And once I've done Rita, I will do Stealth 4 days later! I'm so pumped for Rita and Stealth! Come on me! I can do this!

I finally did Rita yesterday! The launch was great but after that it was just meh. It got rough and I even bashed my left ear! I also did Ripsaw for the first time yesterday! That was good but I didn't get wet! I have conquered my fears over launch coasters! Next launch coaster for me is Stealth on Wednesday and Thursday! Hopefully it will be smoother than Rita for me!

Well done! I'm very happy for you and I'm glad you overcame your fear. I've been on stealth but it's so quick I literally do not remember it. It was only last year I went on it, but I for some reason, I genuinely cannot remember what it was like so yeah. It's weird. I remember getting on the ride but after that I just don't remember anything. But I would say Stealth is probably smoother as it doesn't have the turns that Rita does. Good luck and have fun.

Why are people slagging Rita off? Okay it fair enough to say that its not the best ride at the Towers but nether the less a good thrill...

My favorite ride in the uk is stealth. I ride it at least 5 times when i go to thorpe and i visit thorpe about 20 times a year. So when i go on rita the launch feels very slow. It doesnt give me an adrenilin rush, its honestly just a moving bench. Its throughput is terrible so always has a queue and its themeing (if you can call it themeing) is just terrible. And that is without even considering its global counterparts.

Well I think Rita is a great ride within AT and it's not as I'd people won't ride it because there is stealth at TP, so it is still really popular even if it has a slow throughput, people are willing to wait plus I wonder what you'd think of Rita and even Stealth if you rode kingda ka or TTD

Well I think Rita is a great ride within AT and it's not as I'd people won't ride it because there is stealth at TP, so it is still really popular even if it has a slow throughput, people are willing to wait plus I wonder what you'd think of Rita and even Stealth if you rode kingda ka or TTD

Sorry if this should've gone in another topic but on Rita on Wednesday we noticed that there was a very distinct rattling noise from the train. We were sat on the front seat and my boyfriend thought it may have been the cover becoming loose or a wheel being loose. When we got off and queued for Th13teen we could hear it again, so he told one of the ride ops. Yesterday we heard nothing on the ride, so presumably they rectified the issue, whatever it was.As for the ride itself, Rita is my favourite ride at AT after Nemesis and The Smiler. I don't really get the hate to be honest; I know it's one of the slower and less thrilling Intamin launches but it's a lot of fun and I get a my kicks from the first turn.

Sorry if this should've gone in another topic but on Rita on Wednesday we noticed that there was a very distinct rattling noise from the train. We were sat on the front seat and my boyfriend thought it may have been the cover becoming loose or a wheel being loose. When we got off and queued for Th13teen we could hear it again, so he told one of the ride ops. Yesterday we heard nothing on the ride, so presumably they rectified the issue, whatever it was.As for the ride itself, Rita is my favourite ride at AT after Nemesis and The Smiler. I don't really get the hate to be honest; I know it's one of the slower and less thrilling Intamin launches but it's a lot of fun and I get a my kicks from the first turn.

That's been like that for quite a while, the front does rattle but it's nothing dangerous. This is coming from someone who used to test the ride some mornings

The quiet but daunting music of the Dark Forest takes over and fills your body and mind with fear and excitement. The worn and rusty old entrance to Rita only adds to this exhilaration. You walk through the queue with a feeling of courage but also doubt. Walking closer and closer to the launch section of the roller coaster, the loud rumble of cars speeding along the Intamin track fills your ears. Then you come to a choice. Front row or normal rows? Remember you can be a hero and choose the front seats where the g forces will take over for the duration of the ride and catapult you into speed and acceleration like no other ride on park or you can choose a normal row where as it is not as intense, the speed will still dominate.

Sitting in the comfy Intamin seats will help your fear for at most 3 seconds until the you see the red lights counting down from the old drag raceway and the voice saying "Keep your heads back and hold tight...YOU MUST ESCAPE!" Then fear is just a memory. 0-100kph in 2.5 seconds into a sharp turn to the right. Speeding through the forest at high speed, the train reaches a large airtime hill, swiftly dropping and turning to the left.

Riders swoop past people waiting for the demon of the dark forest (TH13TEEN) and come to yet another airtime hill, this time dropping and falling right into a turn, a hill and a quick brake run. After all of this the car drops slowly into the station where riders can collect their on-ride photo as a memory of the time you escaped from Alton Towers' Dark Forest

The quiet but daunting music of the Dark Forest takes over and fills your body and mind with fear and excitement. The worn and rusty old entrance to Rita only adds to this exhilaration. You walk through the queue with a feeling of courage but also doubt. Walking closer and closer to the launch section of the roller coaster, the loud rumble of cars speeding along the Intamin track fills your ears. Then you come to a choice. Front row or normal rows? Remember you can be a hero and choose the front seats where the g forces will take over for the duration of the ride and catapult you into speed and acceleration like no other ride on park or you can choose a normal row where as it is not as intense, the speed will still dominate.

Sitting in the comfy Intamin seats will help your fear for at most 3 seconds until the you see the red lights counting down from the old drag raceway and the voice saying "Keep your heads back and hold tight...YOU MUST ESCAPE!" Then fear is just a memory. 0-100kph in 2.5 seconds into a sharp turn to the right. Speeding through the forest at high speed, the train reaches a large airtime hill, swiftly dropping and turning to the left.

Riders swoop past people waiting for the demon of the dark forest (TH13TEEN) and come to yet another airtime hill, this time dropping and falling right into a turn, a hill and a quick brake run. After all of this the car drops slowly into the station where riders can collect their on-ride photo as a memory of the time you escaped from Alton Towers' Dark Forest

It's something like this, not really scary apart from the launch, less scary than thirteens outdoor section I'd go as far to saying, not sure that some people would agree with swiftly though . I'd say this is the best description of the experience I've seen, sums it up brilliantly though.

Rita was my Fist ever Launch coaster and I was scared stiff. As long as your head it right against the seat then you will be fine dont put your hands up if it is your first time as your not used to how fast and it could really hurt your arms!

Not just my opinion its fact. Rita is absolutely terrible. If any of you ever go ride maverick and come back to say rita is even half decent you would be called insane. Rita has nothing on the world stage or even the UK. Its not thrilling or offers anything even remotely fun, unless you count standing inline for nothing as fun.